


Teddy Bear

by Aaron_The_8th_Demon



Series: Holding [18]
Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Author Is Sleep Deprived, Crack Treated Seriously, Inspired By Tumblr, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-16
Updated: 2019-05-16
Packaged: 2020-03-06 03:39:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 691
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18842872
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aaron_The_8th_Demon/pseuds/Aaron_The_8th_Demon
Summary: It’s a common misconception that the monster under the bed is always there to scare the children they’re assigned to. Sometimes, monsters are helpful. Sometimes, monsters are annoying. They’re not all scary.For instance, twins, both boys. Overbearing hockey parents who mean well but are way too competitive considering the kids are about to enter kindergarten and can barely stay on their skates. The thing is, if they were identical twins, then there would only be one monster. But they’re fraternal instead. Which means that Avery gets Patrice… and Daniel has Brad.





	Teddy Bear

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by [this Tumblr post](https://fandom-discussions.tumblr.com/post/184785909010/if-two-people-sleep-in-a-bunk-bed-do-they-have-to).
> 
> This is kind of dumb, but... whatever. I rarely write crack and this just sort of happened. I regret nothing.

When children turn five years old, they get assigned a monster.

It’s a common misconception that the monster under the bed is always there to scare the children they’re assigned to. Sometimes, monsters are helpful. Sometimes, monsters are annoying. They’re not all scary.

For instance, twins, both boys. Overbearing hockey parents who mean well but are way too competitive considering the kids are about to enter kindergarten and can barely stay on their skates. The thing is, if they were identical twins, then there would only be one monster. But they’re fraternal instead. Which means that Avery gets Patrice… and Daniel has Brad.

They’ve been together before, of course. It’s been a long time, and they work well together, so they often get assigned to the same family (just usually not both at once like this). It’s fairly typical, really: this family had just moved about a week ago, and today Avery was poking along in the basement. Patrice could hear his new assignment, waiting in a corner and getting ready to be found. (It’s kind of unfortunate - he always ends up getting attached to his assigned child, but he inevitably has to disappear again by age nine or ten.) And it happened: a charming little boy with a round face, looking in the corner and finding a slightly-dusty but still loveable teddy bear. Avery scooped him up, hugged him, and ran back up the stairs with a huge smile to his mother: “Mommy! Mommy! Look what I found!” It’s happened so many times before.

Patrice is now sitting on Avery’s bunk bed, and down underneath he can hear noise - that must be Daniel’s monster, and even given what little Patrice has seen of Daniel so far, he knows this monster will either fall into the “scary” or “annoying” category, which means only Patrice will be able to see it. Then he sees the nose and whiskers, and… yeah, Daniel gets “annoying.” Because a brown rat larger than it has any business being is now shuffling out from beneath the bed, deceptively fluffy and cute. Brad is pure havoc disguised as a furred animal, but Patrice is glad to see him.

_*Up here, Marchy.*_

Brad looks: _*Hey! Bergy! I was wondering when I’d see you again. How long you been here?*_

_*About ten minutes. We have twins. Non-identical.*_

Brad sits up on his back legs and rubs his front paws together. _*This is going to be fun,*_ he cackles.

And so it begins. Patrice tucks in Avery a little closer as he sleeps. Brad rearranges all of Daniel’s crayons and hides the green one under the dresser, way too far for a five-year-old to reach back out. Patrice always checks Avery’s shoes for pebbles, just in case. Brad picks a hole in Daniel’s juice box so that when he squeezes it, it bursts all over his favorite shirt. Patrice makes sure he’s always somewhere that Avery can find him for emergency snuggling. Brad goes into the dryer and steals Daniel’s socks until half of them no longer have a match.

While their boys are at school, Brad climbs onto the bed with Patrice and they cuddle up. It’s a shame only Patrice can see him, because as rats go, Brad’s really cute.

 _*It’s too bad we can’t see each other between assignments,*_ Patrice comments, resting his nose against the back of Brad’s head.

_*Yeah… it’s also too bad you don’t have fingers. We can’t hold hands like people.*_

_*I would always hold your hand and never let go. Even when we’re sleeping.*_

_*I wish there weren’t other monsters,*_ Brad whispers. _*I mean, I wish I didn’t have to work with other monsters. It should always be you.*_

_*Well, we have twins this time. So that’s four or five years where there doesn’t have to be anybody else. Just us two.*_

_*Yeah.*_

Then Brad moves and Patrice sits up. _*What is it? Are they back from school already?*_

 _*No,*_ Brad answers. He reaches out one paw and grabs the rounded end of Patrice’s arm, where the fingers should be. _*There. I’m holding your hand.*_

Patrice chuckles. _*Imagine I’m holding back.*_

_*I am.*_


End file.
